is my new clown lethargic

[darktide]

I picked up a clownfish on Saturday, and so far, he's been pretty stationary - just sticking to one area of the tank. I'll often catch him just chillin' in his anemone, like he's found his happy spot or something. Is this normal behavior for a new fish? Is he just getting accustomed to the tank, or is there something I should be worried about? When I feed him, he's active and eats fine, but he doesn't rush to the surface to grab food - he's not exactly swimming straight to the top to get it.

[rockyfox]

I picked up a clownfish on Saturday, and so far, he's been pretty stationary - just sticking to one area of the tank. I'll often catch him just chillin' in his anemone, like he's found his happy spot or something. Is this normal behavior for a new fish? Is he just getting accustomed to the tank, or is there something I should be worried about? When I feed him, he's active and eats fine, but he doesn't rush to the surface to grab food - he's not exactly swimming straight to the top to get it.

I'm no expert on saltwater, but I've had some experience with freshwater tanks, so I'll try to offer some helpful insights.

First off, I'm assuming this is indeed a saltwater tank you've set up - is the salinity level correct? I know it sounds like a basic question, but I've seen it happen before where the salt levels are off, and it affects the fish.

More importantly, I'd love to know when you introduced the clownfish to the tank and what kind of decorations you have in there. A picture of the entire tank would really help me get a better understanding of the setup. Sometimes, fish just need time to adjust to their new surroundings, or if there aren't enough hiding spots, they tend to stick to one area.

Also, is your tank fully cycled? If so, how did you go about cycling it? I'm wondering if the tank might not have been set up properly, which could be causing some issues with the fish's health.

[darktide]

My salinity levels are spot on. I added him on Saturday afternoon. The tank's been cycled since February, so that shouldn't be the issue. I've attached a pic of the whole tank - you can see him just chillin' in the anemone, which is pretty much his go-to spot. Sometimes he'll get up, swim around a bit, but always ends up back in the anemone. His breathing does seem a bit fast, but I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid or not.

[onyzza]

A lot of sw fish aren't surface feeders, so it's not a concern if he eats from food that drifts around the tank. Clowns tend to claim a home base and stick to it most of the time - this could be a live anemone, a coral, or even just an ornament. They're not exactly known for being super active swimmers that zip around the tank all day.

Edit: Also worth noting, clowns will still move around a bit even when they're sticking close to home. They don't just lie still for extended periods - if he's swimming slowly, that's pretty normal, but if he's just lying there against something with no fin movement, that's not typical.

[kingrise]

I picked up a clownfish on Saturday, and so far, he's been pretty stationary - just sticking to one area of the tank. I'll often catch him just chillin' in his anemone, like he's found his happy spot or something. Is this normal behavior for a new fish? Is he just getting accustomed to the tank, or is there something I should be worried about? When I feed him, he's active and eats fine, but he doesn't rush to the surface to grab food - he's not exactly swimming straight to the top to get it.

From the photos, he looks healthy to me. I'd say it's just stress and getting used to his new surroundings. My clown pair took around a week to get comfortable with the tank and come out from their rock structure.

darktide said:

Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad?

That's actually a good sign - it means he's getting used to the anemone and thinks of it as his safe spot.

darktide said:

Also, when I feed him, he’ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.

That's pretty normal for clowns - they're not big fans of going up to the surface for food. They'd rather eat it in the water column. What's his diet looking like?

darktide said:

Yes salinity is just fine. I added him Saturday afternoon. Cycled since February. Here is a pic of the whole tank. You can see him in the anemone just kinda laying there which he’s done a lot. Sometimes he’ll get up and swim a tiny bit but always goes back to the anemone. Breathing seems kinda fast but at this point I can’t tell if I’m overreacting or not

What's the tank size and what are the parameters looking like?

[rockyfox]

Sounds like everything's checking out so far. But I'm still a bit concerned about the tank size - isn't the minimum supposed to be ten gallons for a clown? Glad to hear from you guys that his behavior seems normal, though.

[coltin]

I'm no expert, but I think I can offer some insight here. The fish is probably stressed due to the tank's setup - it's a bit bare and the white color can be overwhelming. I've seen this before in my freshwater experience, and I think it's similar with saltwater fish. They need places to hide and feel secure.

Adding some plastic or live plants, like Caulerpa or Halimeda, might help the fish feel more at ease. Reducing the light intensity could also make a difference, but keep in mind that this might slow down algae growth.

Regarding the feeding, onyzza already covered that. But I'll add that in the ocean, most marine fish don't take food from the surface. Even captive-bred fish tend to prefer food that's suspended in the water column. If you've been feeding your fish frozen or live foods, that might be why it's not taking food from the surface.

One thing to consider is getting a second anemone fish, but make sure it's smaller than the one you have now.

[rockyfox]

A lot of sw fish aren't surface feeders, so it's not a concern if he eats from food that drifts around the tank. Clowns tend to claim a home base and stick to it most of the time - this could be a live anemone, a coral, or even just an ornament. They're not exactly known for being super active swimmers that zip around the tank all day.

Edit: Also worth noting, clowns will still move around a bit even when they're sticking close to home. They don't just lie still for extended periods - if he's swimming slowly, that's pretty normal, but if he's just lying there against something with no fin movement, that's not typical.

I'm starting to get a better understanding now. The tank does seem a bit bare, doesn't it? Adding some more anemones and grouping them together in a few areas could really help. Creating some little caves out of the rocks would also give your clownfish some more places to hide. I'm not a fan of whitish cloudy tanks, they're never good for the fish.

As for the tank size, it's tough to tell from the pic, but it looks like it could be either a 3.5g or a 5g. Either way, I think adding some more decorations and hiding places would make a big difference.

[kingrise]

I picked up a clownfish on Saturday, and so far, he's been pretty stationary - just sticking to one area of the tank. I'll often catch him just chillin' in his anemone, like he's found his happy spot or something. Is this normal behavior for a new fish? Is he just getting accustomed to the tank, or is there something I should be worried about? When I feed him, he's active and eats fine, but he doesn't rush to the surface to grab food - he's not exactly swimming straight to the top to get it.

I'm no expert on saltwater, but I've had some experience with freshwater tanks, so I'll try to offer some helpful insights.

First off, I'm assuming this is indeed a saltwater tank you've set up - is the salinity level correct? I know it sounds like a basic question, but I've seen it happen before where the salt levels are off, and it affects the fish.

More importantly, I'd love to know when you introduced the clownfish to the tank and what kind of decorations you have in there. A picture of the entire tank would really help me get a better understanding of the setup. Sometimes, fish just need time to adjust to their new surroundings, or if there aren't enough hiding spots, they tend to stick to one area.

Also, is your tank fully cycled? If so, how did you go about cycling it? I'm wondering if the tank might not have been set up properly, which could be causing some issues with the fish's health.

I'm still concerned about the tank's brightness, it seems overly lit. Adding more rock work and possibly some live plants could really help block some of that light and give your fish more places to hide. Not starting with live rock might also be an issue, it's a good way to seed the tank with beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms.

[rockyfox]

I picked up a clownfish on Saturday, and so far, he's been pretty stationary - just sticking to one area of the tank. I'll often catch him just chillin' in his anemone, like he's found his happy spot or something. Is this normal behavior for a new fish? Is he just getting accustomed to the tank, or is there something I should be worried about? When I feed him, he's active and eats fine, but he doesn't rush to the surface to grab food - he's not exactly swimming straight to the top to get it.

From the photos, he looks healthy to me. I'd say it's just stress and getting used to his new surroundings. My clown pair took around a week to get comfortable with the tank and come out from their rock structure.

darktide said:

Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad?

That's actually a good sign - it means he's getting used to the anemone and thinks of it as his safe spot.

darktide said:

Also, when I feed him, he’ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.

That's pretty normal for clowns - they're not big fans of going up to the surface for food. They'd rather eat it in the water column. What's his diet looking like?

darktide said:

Yes salinity is just fine. I added him Saturday afternoon. Cycled since February. Here is a pic of the whole tank. You can see him in the anemone just kinda laying there which he’s done a lot. Sometimes he’ll get up and swim a tiny bit but always goes back to the anemone. Breathing seems kinda fast but at this point I can’t tell if I’m overreacting or not

What's the tank size and what are the parameters looking like?

Does live rock have beneficial bacteria and other life forms on it that help aquariums?